Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
1960s English Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
People Also Browsed
20th Century Danish Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
20th Century French Art Nouveau Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Ceramic, Wood, Walnut
19th Century Belgian Gothic Revival Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Oak
Late 18th Century English Georgian Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Vermeil, Sterling Silver
19th Century English Victorian Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Mahogany
Early 1900s American Impressionist Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Hungarian Baroque Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Velvet, Wood
Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
19th Century English Chinese Chippendale Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Glass, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
20th Century Danish Chinoiserie Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
20th Century Danish Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
19th Century Belgian Gothic Revival Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Wood, Oak
Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century French Restauration Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
1960s Danish Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
Recent Sales
1960s British Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
1960s British Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
1960s Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
1960s English Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
1960s English Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
1960s English Vintage Paragon China Patterns
Porcelain
Finding the Right Porcelain for You
Today you’re likely to bring out your antique and vintage porcelain in order to dress up your dining table for a special meal.
Porcelain, a durable and nonporous kind of pottery made from clay and stone, was first made in China and spread across the world owing to the trade routes to the Far East established by Dutch and Portuguese merchants. Given its origin, English speakers called porcelain “fine china,” an expression you still might hear today. "Fine" indeed — for over a thousand years, it has been a highly sought-after material.
Meissen Porcelain, one of the first factories to create real porcelain outside Asia, popularized figurine centerpieces during the 18th century in Germany, while works by Capodimonte, a porcelain factory in Italy, are synonymous with flowers and notoriously hard to come by. Modern porcelain houses such as Maison Fragile of Limoges, France — long a hub of private porcelain manufacturing — keep the city’s long tradition alive while collaborating with venturesome contemporary artists such as illustrator Jean-Michel Tixier.
Porcelain is not totally clumsy-guest-proof, but it is surprisingly durable and easy to clean. Its low permeability and hardness have rendered porcelain wares a staple in kitchens and dining rooms as well as a common material for bathroom sinks and dental veneers. While it is tempting to store your porcelain behind closed glass cabinet doors and reserve it only for display, your porcelain dinner plates and serving platters can safely weather the “dangers” of the dining room and be used during meals.
Add different textures and colors to your table with dinner plates and pitchers of ceramic and silver or a porcelain lidded tureen, a serving dish with side handles that is often used for soups. Although porcelain and ceramic are both made in a kiln, porcelain is made with more refined clay and is stronger than ceramic because it is denser.
On 1stDibs, browse an expansive collection of antique and vintage porcelain made in a variety of styles, including Regency, Scandinavian modern and other examples produced during the mid-century era, plus Rococo, which found its inspiration in nature and saw potters crafting animal figurines and integrating organic motifs such as floral patterns in their work.
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